Registration for this year’s Workshop Day is now open.

Join the Nonesuch Orchestra and our conductor, Dan Shillday, for a day’s workshop on Tchaikovsky’s vibrant Souvenir de Florence, arranged for string orchestra. For orchestral string players of Grade 8 standard and above.

9.30 am arrival for 10.00 am start, finish by 4.30 pm. NO NEED TO BRING A MUSIC STAND (there are stands at the church) but do bring your own packed lunch (or eat out).

The cost is £40 for members of Nonesuch and £45 for non-members.

Please sign up HERE

Please make payments by Thursday 11th September 2025 to:

Nonesuch Orchestra

Sort Code:  09-01-55

Account no: 69778603

Use reference “surname instrument”  (eg Jones Cello)

Join the Nonesuch Orchestra for the summer lunchtime concert at St Clement Danes church in the Strand on Thursday 19th June at 12.45pm.

The orchestra will perform a programme of beautiful music that you are guaranteed to enjoy. The concert opens with Telemann’s sparkling Overture-Suite in E minor ‘L’Omphale’ . Then Dan Shilladay takes the solo part for Herbert Howells’ gorgeous Elegy for Viola, String Quartet and String Orchestra. And to conclude: Joseph Suk’s lyrical Serenade for Strings in E flat major - shot through with sunshine, shadow and Czech folksong to gladden the heart!

There is no charge for admission; there will be a retiring collection to support Nonesuch’s vital work bringing live music to schools all over London.

And a reminder: toilet facilities at St Clements are limited.

Nonesuch Orchestra performs a new arrangement by Dan Shilladay of Haydn’s masterpiece for Holy Week. A profoundly moving work of seven sonata movements giving voice to tragedy and grief - and to hope and redemption. Framed by an introduction and a closing depiction of the earthquake following the crucifixion, it includes the corresponding texts from the Bible, read by Joanne Pearce.

The performance takes place on Wednesday 16th April at 7.00 pm in Christ Church Turnham Green, Town Hall Avenue, Chiswick.

Admission is free, with a retiring collection to support Nonesuch Orchestra’s work bringing music to London schools - find out more here.

If you cannot attend and/or would prefer to donate online, you can do so here.

The Nonesuch Orchestra brings another adventurous programme of music to our regular winter concert at St John’s Church in Harrow on 5th December.

We will play four works spanning 66 years within the tumult of the twentieth century. You may not know all the composers but we hope you will find making their acquaintance as rewarding as we have during our rehearsals. Here’s the programme, which will last about an hour and a quarter:

Vaughan Williams - The Charterhouse Suite

Ina Boyle - Adagio from the Quartet in E minor, arranged for string orchestra by Dan Shilladay

Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances

Elizabeth Maconchy: Music for Strings

Admission is free, with a retiring collection to help cover expenses. Light refreshments will be served from 11.45 am.

Our autumn Workshop Days have become a popular tradition. We invite orchestral string players of Grade 8 standard and above to join the Nonesuch Orchestra and our conductor, Dan Shilladay, for a day’s workshop on Josef Suk’s wonderful piece. A lyrical work. shot through with sunshine, shadow, and Czech folksong, by an extraordinarily talented composer.

The cost is £45 for the day. Please bring a music stand and your own packed lunch - or eat out (there are several eating places nearby).

If you would like to join us, please complete this form. First come, first served!

A warm welcome awaits you at the beautiful St Clement Danes church in the Strand on Thursday 23rd May at 12.45pm, when “the admirable Nonesuch Orchestra” returns to present an exciting lunchtime concert.

It opens with CPE Bach’s Cello Concerto in A, dancing with energy and grace, with the outstanding young cellist Alistair Baumann as soloist.  Then follows the world premiere of Robin Wedderburn’s Variations, composed specially for the Nonesuch Orchestra.  Finally, the electrifying Concerto in D for String Orchestra by the great Igor Stravinsky - his intense energy is palpable in this famous photo by George Grantham Bain.

Admission is free, and there will be a retiring collection to help support Nonesuch’s vital work bringing live music to schools all over London.

Just a reminder: toilet facilities at St Clements are limited.

50 minutes of musical joy – what better way to spend a lunchtime?

The Nonesuch Orchestra, SIDE BY SIDE with students from Twyford CofE Academies Trust schools, gives the first performance since 1967 of Imogen Holst’s Variations on ‘Loth to Depart’ (1962)

The orchestra also performs her father Gustav Holst’s Brook Green Suite (1933), the London première of Andrew Toovey’s Perception (2023) and Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte (2014)

A unique juxtaposition of new and newly resurrected music – for everyone who would like to hear these amazing works SIDE BY SIDE, in the beautiful acoustic of St Peter’s Church!

Tea, coffee and cake served from 4.30pm

BUY YOUR TICKETS OR REGISTER FOR FREE ENTRY HERE

Grateful thanks to our longstanding sponsors who are helping make this amazing event possible:

Acre Properties https://www.acreproperties.com

Alisha Pharmacy https://www.nhs.uk/services/pharmacy/alisha-pharmacy/FXY41

Priory Lettings and Management https://www.priorylm.com

Simon Buhl Davis (Interior Design) https://simonbuhldavis.com

…and the sponsors of CoMA's 2024 Festival of Contemporary Music for All

Join the Nonesuch Orchestra when we return once again to the lovely St John’s Church in Harrow on 30th November at 12.30pm for our regular lunchtime concert!

This year brings another exciting programme. We will play three wonderful works by a diverse line-up of great composers, all from the turn of the last century: Two of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s delightful Novellettes, Ethel Smyth’s Suite for Strings, and the well-loved Serenade for Strings by Edward Elgar.

Admission is free, with a retiring collection to help cover expenses. Light refreshments will be served from 11.45 am.

The Nonesuch Orchestra offers an exciting lunchtime concert at the beautiful and celebrated church of St Clement Danes - famous for its “oranges and lemons”, and the family church of the Royal Air Force.

We start with Telemann’s dramatic suite Don Quixote, which includes the hero’s assault on windmills, Sancho Panza’s blanket-tossing, and an adorable donkey, Next comes Starburst by the acclaimed American composer Jessie Montgomery - winner of the Leonard Bernstein award - which brings an explosion of galactic colours. Finally we are joined by flautist Peter Robertson for CPE Bach’s Flute Concerto in D Minor - a masterpiece written for Frederick the Great at the very tail-end of the Baroque era.

ADMISSION IS FREE - with a retiring collection to help support our vital work bringing music to schools all over London.

50 minutes from start to finish - what better way to spend a lunchtime?

Nonesuch Orchestra invites you to join us in celebrating the creative talents of great composers from the past and the future! Once again we are working “From Page to Performance” with students from Christ’s School, Richmond, and will showcase their new compositions to our audience. Nonesuch has worked with young composers for several years now to help them create pieces that can be performed successfully, and give them an understanding of how a manuscript translates into the sounds of a real orchestra - as opposed to a mere digital simulation.

The programme also includes some varied and wonderful works from the 17th and 20th centuries we do not often get the chance to hear - by Rameau, Ruth Gipps, and John Ireland. We look forward to welcoming you at Christ Church East Sheen. Reserve your seats here.

We are most grateful for the financial support of our sponsors:

Priory Lettings and Management https://www.priorylm.com

Simon Buhl Davis (Interior Design) https://simonbuhldavis.com

We close the term on 1st December with a public lunchtime concert at 12.30 pm at one of the orchestra’s favourite venues: St John’s Harrow. St John’s is a beautiful church with a warm welcome that has been holding fortnightly lunchtime concerts for nearly 50 years. Our programme will include Britten’s much-loved Simple Symphony, Janáček’s delightful Suite for String Orchestra, and Thea Musgrave’s Aurora. This last piece paints a picture of the coming of light - starting mysteriously, passing through moments of darkness, until the clouds finally dissolve with the dawn.

Admission to the concert is free, but there is a collection on the way out to help cover expenses. Light refreshments are available from 11.45 am.

Join the Nonesuch Orchestra and our conductor, Dan Shilladay, for a day’s workshop on Vaughan Williams’ transcendent masterwork Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis in the composer’s anniversary year. For orchestral string players of Grade 8 standard and above.

This event will be held from 10.30am until 4.30pm, concluding with an informal sharing session of the day’s work for family and friends. Experienced string players are most welcome to join us for the chance to rehearse and play through this magnificent piece.

To register, please complete this form

Registration fee: £45 for non-members of the orchestra to be paid 13th Sept. Payment can be made by either:

• bank transfer (preferable) to the Nonesuch Orchestra, sort code 09–01–55, account number 69778603 and using payment reference surnameinstrument (e.g. Jonesviolin), or

• sending a cheque made payable to the Nonesuch Orchestra to: Jeremy Bradshaw (Treasurer) Nonesuch Orchestra, 45 Priory Avenue, London W4 1TZ

If £45 is more than you can afford, don’t worry! Financial challenges will never prevent anyone playing with the Nonesuch. Transfer or make out the cheque for what you can manage - it will be a confidential matter for the Treasurer only. And if you would like to make an extra donation to help rebuild our reserves after the lockdowns, please do - we will be extremely grateful!

We look forward to welcoming you to what we know will be an enjoyable and enriching day!

This summer we are giving a concert to celebrate 60 years of ground-breaking music making, embracing London schools and local communities. The Nonesuch Orchestra will once again be joined by the celebrated Chiswick dance company Ballet4Life for a special performance of Off the Ground - an exciting new piece by Cecilia McDowall based on Walter de la Mare’s poem about Three Jolly Farmers, with dance choreographed for the occasion by Donna Schoenherr.

Also on the programme: Bartók’s Divertimento, a dazzling and haunting work for string orchestra, and the last of our current series of Handel’s great Concerti Grossi - this time the enchanting Opus 6, No.11 in A major.

Click here to buy tickets.

The Nonesuch Orchestra and Ballet4life would like to thank our sponsors:

Acre Properties https://www.acreproperties.com

Alisha Pharmacy https://alishapharmacy.business.site

Priory Lettings and Management https://www.priorylm.com/offices/estate-agents/kew

Simon Buhl Davis (Interior Design) https://simonbuhldavis.com

Our evening concert on Saturday 5 March will include some of the student works prepared during the composition workshop From Page to Performance, as well as a performance of Errollyn Wallen’s electrifying Concerto Grosso for Piano, Violin, Double Bass and Strings (2008) with soloists Andrew Zolinsky, Stephanie Waite (Leader of the Nonesuch Orchestra) and Lon Fon Law. And to complete the billing - another Concerto Grosso from an earlier era: Handel’s sublime Opus 6 No.5.

Purchase tickets

If you have any problems buying tickets online, don’t worry - you can pay at the door; just email nonesuchorch@gmail.com to let us know and we’ll add your name to our list of ticket holders.

The Nonesuch Orchestra and CoMA 2022 From Page to Performance School Compositions Project is already in progress with students from four West London secondary schools composing works for string orchestra. The composer Andrew Toovey will provide feedback on the works during January.

The student compositions will then be workshopped and performed by the Nonesuch Orchestra, under the direction of our conductor Dan Shilladay and Andrew Toovey, on Thursday 3rd March in the morning (10.00 am - 1.15 pm) and in the afternoon (2.10 - 3.10 pm). The workshops are open to groups of students from all secondary schools (not just those with participating composers). If your school would like to send a group to the workshops, please email nonesuchorch@gmail.com 

Individual tickets for the workshops are available here. If you have any problems buying tickets online, don’t worry - you can pay at the door; just email nonesuchorch@gmail.com  to let us know and we’ll add your name to our list of ticket holders.

Handel  Concerto Grosso Op.6 no.6

Beethoven Adagio from String Quartet Op.132, arranged for string orchestra

Grażyna Bacewicz Concerto for String Orchestra

Conductor: Dan Shilladay
Leader: Stephanie Waite

Admission is free. Coffee and sandwiches are available from 11.45 am